Reps. Schneider, Ros-Lehtinen Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Protect Seniors from Elder Abuse

September 28, 2017

Press Release 

 

Bill would create national registry of elder abusers for use by health care providers

Today, U.S. Representatives Brad Schneider (D-IL) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) introduced bipartisan legislation to better protect senior citizens from abuse, fraud, and neglect.

The Senior Citizen Protection Act would create a national registry of elder abusers that accredited health care providers and the public could check before hiring employees who will work with seniors.

While some states already have created elder abuse registries, there is currently no nationally-searchable database of the state-level data.

 “Families deserve the peace of mind that their loved ones are receiving the best possible care at senior facilities and nursing homes,” said Schneider. “Elder abuse is a crime against some of our most vulnerable citizens. Collecting and cataloging state data on elder abusers and scammers into a nationally-searchable database is a commonsense step to protect our seniors from those who wish to do them harm.”

“Seniors are important members of our society and we must do everything we can to ensure that they can live with dignity and without fear of being abused by those entrusted to care for them,” said Ros-Lehtinen. “There is no excuse for elder abuse and we must not allow those who commit abuse in one state to flee to another and start their terrible practices anew. The bill my colleague, Brad, and I have introduced with support from the Elder Justice Coalition will ensure that our parents, grandparents, and loved ones are looked after by professional caregivers who will give them the treatment and respect they deserve.”

The bill creates a national public, searchable database with information from state registries to identify people found guilty of abuse, neglect, mistreatment, or financial exploitation of Americans over the age of 65.

The bill would also require the Department of Justice to establish guidelines on which states could base their own registries and would provide grants to states to help them implement these registries.

A recent audit by the Office of the Inspector General in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) found that Illinois had the most incidents of nursing home neglect and abuse of the 33 states audited.

The bill is supported by the National Adult Protective Services Association and the Elder Justice Coalition.

“The Elder Justice Coalition is proud to support the Senior Citizen Protection Act,” said Bob Blancato, National Coordinator. “This legislation has the potential to protect millions of vulnerable older adults from being harmed by individuals with histories of elder abuse. We look forward to partnering with Reps. Schneider and Ros-Lehtinen to help this bill swiftly move through the legislative process.”

 The text of the legislation is available here.

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Reps. Schneider, Ros-Lehtinen Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Protect Seniors from Elder Abuse

Senator Serino’s Elder Abuse Protection Bill Passes NYS Senate

Bill to Implement Health Care Provider’s Screening Process Passes Senate


Senator Sue Serino Chairs the NYS Senate Aging Committee

ALBANY, NY— On Monday, Senator Sue Serino’s (R, C, I—Hyde Park) bill to empower health care providers to detect elder abuse in their patients passed in the Senate, adding a critical layer of protection for New York’s Seniors.

“There are few people better positioned to screen for elder abuse than the physicians our seniors know and trust,” said Senator Serino. “This bill gives physicians the tools they need to recognize the signs of abuse and get their patients the help they need, stopping abuse in its tracks. It is time to put our seniors first, change the elder abuse statistics and ensure that New Yorkers have the opportunity to live out their Golden Years free from harm.”

Specifically, the bill (S. 6925) aims to engage trusted medical professionals to help identify and assist patients at a high risk for abuse by directing the Commissioner of Health to establish protocol for voluntary screening to aid physicians, physicians assistants and nurse practitioners in identifying and reporting cases of abuse or maltreatment. To that end, the tool will provide practitioners with guidance that articulates, among other things, common definitions of abuse, questions that may be used for those who have cognitive impairments as well as a list of resources that may be provided to those patients identified as being victims of abuse.

As Senator Serino notes in the bill’s memo, elder abuse has emerged as one of the nation’s most underreported crimes, with an estimated 300,000 cases going unreported each year and she notes that it has been shown that elders who experience abuse, even moderate in severity, have a 300% higher risk of death when compared to those who have not been abused.

Unfortunately, those being abused frequently refuse to report abuse as it too often occurs at the hands of loved ones, friends, neighbors and people our seniors have known and trusted for significant amounts of time. Detecting elder abuse is made even more challenging given the fact that there have been systematic issues with implementing comprehensive elder abuse screening and intervention, even at the federal level, because it cuts across areas impacting not only physical health, but mental and financial health as well as personal safety.

Over a decade ago, the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force found that, in the primary care setting, there are no uniform screening tools available to identify abuse of elder adults. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) developed and implemented an elder abuse screening tool within the Physician Quality Reporting System in 2009 in order to decrease hospitalizations, readmissions, and mortality. Senator Serino’s bill was modeled after the Elder Maltreatment Screen and Follow-Up Plan that was developed for CMS and aims to set the standard for screening in New York.

“Whether out of shear inability, fear, embarrassment, or the desire to protect an abuser that they know and trust, our seniors too often choose not to report abuse,” said Senator Serino. “We have a duty to ensure that we have systems in place to protect those most vulnerable to abuse. With health care professionals uniquely positioned to gain their patient’s trust and ensure their health and safety, giving them the tools they need to recognize and report abuse is a commonsense measure that can save lives.”

(Provided by Senator Sue Serino’s Office)

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Senator Serino’s Elder Abuse Protection Bill Passes NYS Senate

Beshear orders mandatory national background checks for health care providers for elderly

Governor Steve Beshear today announced that he has signed an emergency regulation requiring certain health care providers to obtain national criminal background checks on new employees and other individuals who provide direct one-on-one care to elderly residents or patients in order to obtain or renew the facility’s license to operate in the Commonwealth.

Effective Jan. 1, 2016, approximately 1,300 providers will be required to obtain national background checks for all new employees. These providers include nursing homes, intermediate care facilities and Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICF/IID); adult day health care programs; assisted living communities; home health agencies; hospice; personal services agencies; providers of home and community-based services; personal care homes; and staffing agencies, including nursing pools that have contracts to provide staff to one or more of the listed employer types.

Expanded background checks are aimed at protecting the elderly

“Protecting the elderly and other individuals residing in these facilities is not only important – it is our duty as state leaders,” said Gov. Beshear. “All too often, these vulnerable citizens become victims of the very individuals who are supposed to be caring for them. This regulation, based upon a federal law allowing these background checks, will ensure we are able to thoroughly track the history of anyone who has committed such an offense, whether it occurred in Kentucky or out of state, and ensure they will not be working at health care facilities in the Commonwealth.”

Prior to utilizing this federal law, state law required only name-based, Kentucky-specific background checks, creating a loophole that allowed applicants seeking employment in these long-term care and other settings to hide criminal actions committed in other states. Meanwhile, the prevalence of alleged abuse or exploitation of seniors in these settings remained significant. Since May 2014, more than 2,600 total complaints have been lodged against long-term care providers, nearly 30 percent of which were directly related to suspected abuse or exploitation of residents.

National background checks
“By requiring fingerprint-supported background checks that search for both state and federal FBI criminal records, applicants will not be able to hide criminal actions committed in other states,” said
Cabinet for Health and Family Services Secretary Audrey Tayse Haynes. “National background checks are a critical initiative that dramatically improve the ability of long-term care and other providers to timely and accurately research the backgrounds of potential employees, ruling out individuals with histories of violence, abuse or exploitation that occurred in other states.”

Since receiving an initial federal grant in 2011 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) Office of Inspector General implemented the Kentucky Applicant Registry and Employment Screening background check program, also known as KARES, and offered the statewide program on a voluntary basis with 35 fingerprint scanners located in Kentucky.

KARES was recently awarded an additional $689,000 in CMS grant funding to add 35 more fingerprint scanners throughout Kentucky, bringing the total number of scanner locations to 70.

“This program improves resident and patient safety and promotes a higher quality of care,” said CHFS Inspector General Maryellen Mynear. “The electronic program has now been fully tested by voluntary participants over the last 18 months, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive regarding its ease of use, cost effectiveness and speed. Our office will assist providers as they apply for initial licensure or renew their existing license to ensure a smooth and timely transition to a national criminal background check program that meets the requirements of this regulation.”

In signing the regulation, Gov. Beshear noted the success of KARES. The electronic program has been operational since May 2014 on a voluntary basis and allows employers to perform all necessary background checks – from professional licenses to abuse registries to both state and federal criminal databases – in one step through electronic fingerprinting. The program significantly reduces the time required to complete a background check.

Kentucky State Police Commissioner Rodney Brewer said KSP maintains the criminal history repository on behalf of the Commonwealth and has partnered with CHFS to provide pertinent information for this initiative.

From Kentucky Governor’s Office

Full Article & Source:
Beshear orders mandatory national background checks for health care providers for elderly